I've decided to post some photos and a video of Siddo's shootout dominance and Flower's netminding pwnage for you to enjoy one more time... or as many times as you choose to replay it! ;) First, the photos - all of which can be enlarged for a sweet new wallpaper:
In case you've forgotten, Sidney got the first mark on the board.
Celebrate Good Times, Come On!
Saint Siddo FTW!!!
The Boys congratulate The Kid on his game winning shootout goal.
FLOWER POWER!
And here's the icing on the cake:
OUTSTANDING!!! Speaking of standing(s), I've added a widget to the right side of The Show so we can watch the Boys steadily move up. ;)
...so you KNOW it's going to be something wacky! From Friend of The Show Donny M.:
Up here in Toronto we have a sorta crazy web personality known as Kayvon, He has recently put out a video featuring himself with Sidney Crosby that you might find interesting, it has been making the rounds here in Canada for the past week or so. This video really threw me for a loop the first time I saw it, plus Sidney really comes off nice [at the end of the video]. Hope you enjoy!
Wow. Just - wow. Like I said, I don't even know what to say about this one except that I guess it takes ALL kinds, hahahaha! Many thanks go out to Donny for sending this insanity my way!! :)
I got a few more photos from the All Star Game. This first set comes from Friend of The Show Lorie P. who said, "I'm from Montreal, and I got to go to the all Star Game. It was amazing to be at! I met Guy Carboneau Thursday night at the Jamboree, but I didn't have a camera with me, no sight of Crosby though." Enjoy Lorie's pics (click all the following pics to enlarge):
Lorie also sent in two short videos of the massive crowds gathered around as the players emerged from their bus:
Next, we'll hear from Friend of The Show Jamie M.:
I was just reading your post on the All Star game. I was also at the red carpet ceremony and was located outside at the front of the gate. I was extremely lucky enough to be located at the very front where as the players came off the bus I was one of the first people they seen. (If anyone has video of them getting off the bus I am the one wearing the yellow winter jacket and blue Winter hat; I was shown on the large screen during the skills competition when they showed a clip.) The players were released off the bus in pairs and each was provided with a Sharpie for autographing. I brought my father to the game and skills competition for his 50th birthday, and we had the time our lives.
I am a HUGE Crosby fan and collector. The only piece I brought hoping to get signed was Crosby’s 2003 Shattuck St. Mary’s High School yearbook. I was very excited when Crosby came off the bus and soon as he stepped off I asked him to sign the book. I told him I was one of his biggest fans and he smiled and nodded.(I am sure he hears that all the time.) He was very rushed but did take a second to sign and it is now one of the nicest Crosby pieces I own.
I was also lucky enough to get an All Star hat signed. The first person to sign it was Roberto Luongo which is on the bottom right in the right side view picture. Ovechkin's is at the right side almost on top of the hat of the right view pic Mark Messier's is on the middle back and is the long one that you can pick out the M. I was surprised to see Mark but told him it was great to see him there. Carey Price's is the one on the back in the silver pen. Vincent Lecavalier is the silver one on the front bib of the hat. Jay Bouwmeester is the one on the hat you can barely pick out the number 3. In the top left hand corner of the left side view pic is Shea Weber.
There were a couple I was unsure of but the signatures on the hat I am aware of for sure are:
Vincent Lecavalier Carey Price Mark Messier Roberto Luongo Shea Weber Keith Tkachuk Mark Streit Alex Kovalev Jay Bouwmeester Sheldon Souray Alex Ovechkin Keith Tkachuk
Are you kidding me?! What I wouldn't give for a hat like that! Check it out:
Thank you so much to Lorie and Jamie for sharing these great pictures and videos with us! :)
Even my dogs could tell that he says "Well, we'll see next game" at the end of the following clip:
I hate it when people try to create controversy where none truly exists. >:(
And since I'm already ranting, can I ask that all the people whining about Siddo's lack of goal scoring PLEASE just shut the hell up? While it may be true that he is not playing his best hockey right now, The Kid is still currently perched nicely in the number 2 spot of league point leaders, right behind his teammate Geno. (Incidentally, Geno is #1 and Sid is #2 in assists, as well.)
Do I wish Sid would score more goals? Of course! But am I okay with it if he does nothing more than rack up assist after assist after assist by setting up his teammates for goals for the rest of the season? Damn straight.
Every year about this time, Sid seems to go through a scoring slump. Yet (when he stays healthy - knock on wood) he's always a serious contender for the scoring title at the end of the season. We're not even halfway through the season yet. There is plenty of time for Siddo to hit a hot streak. Remember that he didn't hit his stride until after the All Star break in the 2006-07 season, and he went on to win the Art Ross.
Now that's not to say the Pens aren't experiencing some serious issues right now. The team as a whole is faltering. It's easy to blame injuries for their current woes, but in order to be an effective team, they must have the ability to win regardless of who is on the IR list. There's been a shocking lack of passion from the Boys in the past few games, and hopefully Therrien's anger after last night's game will stir something in their souls for tomorrow's game.
[*Sighs*] Once the team starts playing like the well oiled machine it once was, life will make sense again...
Just a heads up, The Friends' Zone has been abuzz with the news that Siddo has broken the record for most All Star votes received (previously held by one Jaromir Jagr). GO SID GO!!! Now keep voting for all the Pens and show them how passionate Pens fans really are. :)
Finally today, Friend of The Show Brandon B. sent in a video tribute to Sid that his friend made. He assured me that "Florida Pens fans are keeping it going down here!" :) Enjoy!
Stagerat & Lauren H. - Penguins' Crosby not pulling a LeBron (This is nearly the same article as the previous one, but this one is written for the Pittsburgh Tribune Review.)
Stagerat & Kellie D. found this video tribute to Sid honoring his First Star Status on the Pens' website:
I got an update from Friend of The Show Jan about the Mario Lemieux Foundation auctions for her drawings:
Just wanted to report that the bidding is over for my two drawings and I am so pleased that one brought in $200 for the foundation and the other brought in $210 for The MLF. How cool is that? Again, thank you for letting me be a part of the family of Friends of the Show! I think it's cool that the first drawing I ever did of our Captain that was featured on YOUR site went for the top price of the two.
Once again - congratulations, Jan! $410 for the MLF! I'm so proud of you! :)
Finally today, I received this e-mail from Friend of The Show Lauren a few days ago:
It was snowing at my house yesterday before I left to drive back to Ohio for class, and I should've been working on a paper, but instead I took a break to take my dog Emma and Sidney Penguin outside for a couple of pictures! :) Enjoy!
Look at how sweet Emma is:
What a pretty puppy!!! Big thanks go out to Michelle, Carlie, Stagerat, Kellie, Jan, and Lauren for their contributions to today's post. Tomorrow I'll have some amazing game day pics for you.
We've been waiting for this with bated breath, so without further ado:
Special thanks go out to Friend of The Show Kellie D. for sending the link to the video. She (and some others) e-mailed the Pens' webmaster to specifically request that they post this clip. :)
I've gotten SEVERAL e-mail requests to find and post this video. I've done it one better - here are two different clips of the free-for-all that occurred 25 seconds into last Saturday's game against Vancouver. I couldn't decide which one to post, so I figured I would just post them both. Besides, it's so good you'll want to watch it again. ;)
Widescreen:
Fullscreen (this one has slightly better video quality):
I'm aiming to have another installment of The Musings of Mad Max Talbot for tomorrow's post. And I've e-mailed the people at Versus to bug them for the audio of the Engblom conference call - you have NO IDEA how badly I want to tell you all about it. :)
And it's just one of many differences between our title man and Alexander Semin. Here, Siddo keeps his dignity while responding to media questions about Semin's recent comments:
I finally started my new job today! It was a day full of meetings, but even so, it was a lot of fun. I think I'm really going to like it there! An added bonus: it's 5:30pm, and I'm already home and in my P.J.s!! NO MORE FIVE O'CLOCK TRAFFIC!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOO!!! :D
Anyways, it looks more and more like I won't be having a chance to answer emails during the day as I did at my old job, but with the extra time I now have at home every night, I hope to be caught up in a week's time. (I'm sooooo far behind on Roaming Penguins it's not even FUNNY.) So I'm going to scratch the surface tonight and get to some of the stuff I've received.
First up, Friend of The Show Paula C. sent in this clip of Sid on TSN's Off The Record - The Next Question:
Friend of The Show Stagerat sent this next tidbit along. IFHSA™ is at it again, and the season just started last week! In the NHL, a player can receive only 2 game misconduct penalties per season without consequence. Once said player gets nailed with a third, he is suspended. (Do you see where this is going?) From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Sean Avery used both of his lifelines Saturday night against Nashville.
He's a douche with a capital bag.
Avery, the much-ballyhooed agitator who signed a four-year, $15.5 million contract with the Stars in the summer, received an automatic game misconduct penalty for participating in a "second altercation" -- a fight away from a fight that had already started. He then received a second game misconduct penalty for arguing with referees.
A suspension? It should be an expulsion. In the NHL, there are the guys you love to hate (like Hossa - because you have to admit, he's a lot of fun to watch), and then there's IFHSA™. That guy is an embarrassment to the game.
The Russian Web site Allhockey.ru reported the cause of death as cardiac arrest.
According to the Russian daily Sport-Express, Cherepanov’s collapse was not preceded by a collision with another player or blows to the head or chest. The newspaper reported that doctors were able to resuscitate Cherepanov for only about two minutes during their efforts.
The newspaper reported that Jaromir Jagr, the former Ranger who joined Avangard this season and was seen as a mentor to Cherepanov, was distraught and in tears after the game.
So, so awful.
Changing the subject back to happier things, Friend of The Show Lisa-Marie W. recently had a birthday. Her family got her the BEST. BIRTHDAY CAKE. EVER.:
That's quite a cake! (Click to enlarge)
Check out some sweet pictures from Saturday's home opener that Friend of The Show Lizzybeth8771 took from her amazing seats (click them to enlarge):
And finally tonight, we had our first Roaming Penguin land overseas! Marc-Andre Penguin arrived in Duisburg, Germany to visit the home of Friend of The Show Anne H. Her own words explain the photos:
First of all he learned to know some of his new familiy members (pic 01)...
...and became friends with a mascot of my favorite soccer team (pic 02).
On Friday we went cycling and he saw the Regattabahn Duisburg, where several world rowing and canoeing championships took place (pics 03-05).
Afterwards I showed him the stadium of our local soccer team (pic 06).
Today we took a walk through Landschaftspark Nord, which is part of the industrial landscape characteristic of the area I live in (pic 09).
That is AWESOME, Anne!!! I was thrilled to pieces to see the little guy in Europe!
Thanks to everyone - Paula, Stagerat, Maria, Lisa-Marie, Lizzybeth8771, and Anne - for their assistance with tonight's post.
Friend of The Show Julia found the clip of Sid rapping on YouTube. It's the clip mentioned in The Friends' Zone from the Sidney Crosby: On The Ice and Beyond DVD where Siddo sings Juvenile's song "Slow Motion:"
Here's something that will get you worked up for November 11th - from Friend of The Show Doug L.:
Carroll (Ottawa, Ontario Canada): Do you miss Tim Horton's coffee and donuts will living in Pittsburgh?
Sidney Crosby: I do miss Tim Horton's! There's not many here. I definitely do miss it.
Cass (Norman, OK): What do you think is the biggest challenge you as captain will face this season?
Sidney Crosby: I think making sure the team doesn't listen to past history or facts, because history isn't on our side right now. There haven't been a lot of successful teams that have had Cup runs. We just have to prove ourselves. What we've done in the past doesn't matter.
AWESOME!!! Good job, ladies! :) Now I know some of you were upset that the interviewer didn't ask him about TSCS. I have to tell you in all honesty, I don't think I'd be comfortable knowing Sid knew about my site. I see The Show as a work in progress with many improvements (on my end, not yours - you guys ROCK!!!) to be made. Bottom line: I just don't think I do a good enough job here for him to be made aware of The Show's existence. Oh, and in case you were wondering, I did not submit a question. I missed the deadline because I was at my sister's house and I got distracted. It's just as well - I couldn't think of a good one to ask him anyways.
Speaking of being away, I did try to keep up a little bit with my emails while I was away, but I failed miserably. Please don't get mad if I don't respond or don't use the stuff you've sent right away - I've still got it all (pictures, articles, Roaming Penguins stuff, etc.) and I can absolutely guarantee you that I will get to it eventually.
Stagerat, who writes for The Flower Shop, keeps finding stuff about the Saint in his search for all things Fleury. In an effort to help me out, he passes along the info. Here's what he has found this week:
this tip that "TSN has gone Crosby Crazy." Click here to browse through articles, interviews, videos, and more
an open letter to Siddo over at Barry Melrose Rocks that begs the Kid to stop being so careful about his words and - every once in a while - let loose and tell us what he REALLY thinks
Kellie D. sent in this ESPN Crosby v Ovechkin article that has what may be the coolest Sid/Ovie graphic I've ever seen in an article comparing the two.
52 - SIDNEY CROSBY Center and captain, Pittsburgh Penguins At just 21 and with three years as a pro, Sid the Kid is hockey's top player and most marketable athlete.
And finally today, Sidney Penguin arrived in Benbrook, Texas, where he met Karen S. and her furry friends. S.P. wrote us to tell us all about it:
Well I made it to my new home and I met my new mommy. She has two black furry things that seem to own the living space. When mommy was talking to me one of them got curious about me and got too close. We will call that one 'Evil Kitty'. 'Evil Kitty' keeps staring at me but mommy has me protected by her side. The other one we'll call 'Good Kitty' let me sit with her and mommy took our picture. She gave me a soft nose kiss and then laid down on the blanket which has a Penguin logo on it. Mommy said they claimed it as their own and she is just lucky to get to use it. 'Evil Kitty' keeps lurking around but mommy said I will be kept in a safe place.
Sidney P. shares a nice blanket with "Good Kitty."
LOOK OUT, S.P.!!!
Many thanks go out to Julia, Doug, Stagerat, Kellie, Ali, and Karen for their help with today's post. Look for pictures of the Sweden games from two Friends to go up sometime in the next 24 hours. :)
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